In my mind, the so-called ‘bulldog’ spirit chimes with the things I least like. It’s essentially puffed up patriotism that is so much more about xenophobia than a love for our country.
Xenophobia is a Greek word which translates as fear of strangers, so the welcome given by swivel-eyed Tory back-benchers to Cameron’s stance in Brussels last week rang alarm bells.
The best explanation I have found of the implications of Cameron’s use of the veto is an analysis by the Guardian’s economics editor, Larry Elliott.
His view is that the UK’s isolation is not good but then neither is the framework that Cameron shunned. Countries will no longer have freedom to run their own fiscal policies.
Elliott explained that adopting the German model means EU countries are obliged to get their debt levels below 60% of GDP. This ‘balanced budget rule’ is apparently a hot favourite among US fiscal conservatives.
So we might conclude a narrow escape for the UK but the cheers from the City of London is another warning sign.
Nowhere in the formula put forward by Cameron or Osborne is there even a pretence of a strategy for economic growth or any relief from the austerity policies that are hitting low and middle income families.
The backdrop of these talks and gloomy economic forecasts is perfect cover for yet more mean spirited attacks on working people, pay, pensions and job security.
The Occupy camps across the UK take on huge significance as the crisis deepens. Tents sprang up outside St Paul’s Cathedral in London because the protesters were thwarted in their attempt to camp in the heart of the City - home to many of the major financial institutions.
As Christmas approaches,. I wonder how many churchgoers will remember the warning from Jesus that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
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